MAPUSA: Demonetization has turned out to be a double whammy for people in the Pernem coastal belt who have sold their land.

Sources said that the affected persons have been dealt with a double blow as they feel that they have lost the hen that laid the golden egg in return for nothing as their land has gone and so also their money.

Until recently, Arambol was the only village which was popular for tourism activities in the coastal belt of Pernem. Owing to the flourish in tourism in the coastal belt of Pernem, places like Morjim, Ashvem and Mandrem have become popular over the span of just half-a-decade. Tourism activities have tremendously flourished in these areas with the establishment of hotels and resorts run mostly by non-Goans, including people from Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and also with dormant foreign investors. The land rates have tremendously increased in the range of 8,000 to 15,000 per sq m from the existing rates ranging between 500 and 2,000.

In order to make fast money through rising property rates, people have sold their land and old houses in these areas. Sources said that in order to avoid stamp duty on property, most of the deals on paper were on undervalued rates of the property. The remaining amount was paid without anything on paper to the land owner. Many people had sold their land showing the rate of land to the government as 500 per sq m to avoid stamp duty and accepted the rest in cash. This had become the norm with government authorities unable to curb this illegality. After demonetization, the money accepted has lost it value. Now, the people are finding it impossible to bring out that money and put it back in proper channels as they have no sources of income to back the large amounts. “Now the money is gone and also the land. People are searching for relatives to deposit the money into their accounts to convert it into white money,” said a source.